We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mike Penny a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mike, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I’ve found the search for purpose in this world to be vexing at times, but “purpose” is such a tricky concept. Who are the arbiters of this abstract notion? We are the only ones who can know what constitutes purpose for ourselves in our own lives, and it seems to be closely related to a sense of belonging.
One of many reasons that Japan and Japanese culture is so special to me is the welcoming attitude I have been lucky enough to receive from members of the shamisen community. Despite being a performer and regularly putting myself out there in front of people, I am someone who has difficulty taking up space and this was especially true when I first began traveling to Japan to study and play with other shamisen players. It was so important to me to learn the traditional Tsugaru shamisen repertoire and technique before delving into anything “new”, not only because I loved the traditional style, but because I didn’t want to appropriate. I didn’t want to be that guy. Much to my delight, I was by everyone I met in Japan to pursue shamisen and to make it my own. The kindness and support I received gave me a sense of belonging in the shamisen community, which gave me the confidence to pursue my unique path of writing for the instrument and developing a style which incorporated elements of all the music I loved. This, in turn, has gradually led to my feeling a sense of purpose, which has made me grateful. With this gratitude, I now want to try to give back to shamisen players, to Japan, to everyone who has helped me along the way so far.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Mike Penny, and I have been a Tsugaru shamisen performer and composer for the past 19 years. Tsugaru shamisen is a three-stringed, fretless Japanese lute that is played by striking the strings percussively with a large plectrum called a “bachi”.
I first studied shamisen from 2004-2005 in Santa Cruz, CA with Kevin Kmetz, and later I began traveling to Japan to continue studying and perform. Over the years, I have performed throughout the U.S. and Japan in various ensembles and as a solo artist, and more recently I have been enjoying studio recording projects for video games, film, and television.
Since 2013, I have been based in West Hollywood where I teach shamisen privately to about 5 students. One of the great joys of writing and performing music is the code-switching that you can do from piece to piece, style to style. My music goals have changed since I started playing shamisen about 19 years ago. In the beginning I wanted to be completely immersed in Tsugaru shamisen study, and while I will never stop loving the traditional repertoire, I have worked more on developing my individual style and writing pieces for shamisen that explore new sides of the instrument’s beauty. Right now I am about halfway through recording an album of what I consider to be my best solo arrangements of traditional Tsugaru folk pieces, various Western classical pieces, and some of my own original pieces including a new three-movement shamisen sonata (“Shamisenata”). I’m really excited about the sonata which I wrote as an expression of my love for the shamisen, and as a response to the call attributed to one of Tsugaru shamisen’s earliest innovators, Nitaboh: “Don’t just follow the path of others, play your own shamisen!”
The album is going to be called Mike Penny: for Solo Shamisen (A Prelude to Pretense), so please watch out for it in late spring!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think being open and flexible was an asset to learning and venturing out as a solo artist. Had I not been open to whatever experiences or situations came my way, I might have only experienced a small fraction of the journey on which, thanks to me being more curious than rigid about things, I was happy to let my teachers and others guide me in the early days. Interpersonal relationships are important, too, and help us all feel better understood in terms of what we want, what our motivations are. It’s heartening to know that there are so many people out there who are willing to help us in life, to spur us on, and their support can mean everything at times. Self-discipline is another skill some friends tell me I possess, although that does not feel entirely accurate to me! I see myself as more doggedly determined to do what I can while I can than being self-disciplined, but who knows? This kind of goes back to the “purpose” piece, but having a sense of purpose can motivate us enough to make sacrifices and do the work necessary to bring our art to life, or to accomplish a goal. So, I guess I can say that having a sense of purpose, or self-discipline, or whatever you want to call it, has kept me going and has allowed me to progress.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
The area in which I have made the most improvements lately is my mental health. Understanding my fears and emotions, and learning to give myself some grace in life has been such a satisfying challenge with great rewards. Life is complex and can be painful, but attempting to love and understand ourselves is a crucial first step in helping us feel, and making others feel like we all belong.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikepenny01
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MikePennyOrchestra/
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/mikepenny01
- SoundCloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4B8CAWkWMxew2l8u3XBPAs
- Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mikepennyorchestra/shamisentimental-the-anthology-vol-1
Image Credits:
Kimono by Toshiko Okawa
